im an americanborn filipino born to filipino immigrants i grew up with as much filipino culture without native language and now i am accelerating my studies of tagalog our native language has provided missing links between cultures that are missed in translation now i recognize nuance when i read books watch movies and listen to podcasts i gain bits of tradition just by speaking to other tagalog speakers as i deepen my understanding of tagalog i noticed i get to explain american culture as a filipinoamerican we are as much unicorns to natives as they are to us